Japan

[ad_1] The Bank of Japan is likely to be encouraged by stronger annual wage negotiation results that will pave the way for the end of its negative interest rate by this spring, according to a former BOJ executive director in charge of monetary policy."There’s a good chance the outcome of spring wage talks will be higher than last year, reaching 4%,” Eiji Maeda, the former director, said in an interview. […]

[ad_1] The world’s two biggest greenhouse gas emitters are charting a new course for cooperation after the departures of John Kerry and Xie Zhenhua — two titans of climate diplomacy who paved the way for landmark agreements. Representing the U.S. and China, the two men spent years on opposite sides of the negotiating table hammering out global deals to cut planet-warming emissions. Their close personal relationship has endured even as […]

[ad_1] With deaths and injuries from bears already hitting a record high in the current fiscal 2023, the Environment Ministry plans to beef up countermeasures ahead of springtime, when the animals come out of hibernation.As part of its measures to prevent bears from entering human settlements, the ministry will conduct inhabitation research on bears by the end of March, and will bolster preparations to cull bears and strengthen a liaison […]

[ad_1] Asia is becoming the latest hunting ground for global investors in data centers, as companies from KKR & Co. to Bain Capital bet on the region’s growing computing and data storage needs following an artificial intelligence boom.Like in the U.S., Asia is seeing a surge in demand for data centers as giants like Amazon and Alphabet’s Google boost cloud services, the recent generative AI wave fuels data and capacity […]

[ad_1] A new educational center will be launched in Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima Prefecture, to respond to the learning ambitions and intellectual curiosity of "uniquely gifted children.”Local volunteers who are knowledgeable in mathematics, literature, art, information technology and other fields will serve as instructors, free of charge, as part of an aim to have the entire community work together to develop children's special abilities.The name of the new center, called the "Omega […]

[ad_1] Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) pledged continued efforts to maintain security in the Japanese capital in a ceremony marking the 150th anniversary of its founding on Monday. "We pledge to work together and demonstrate our comprehensive strength to maintain security in the capital city of Tokyo," MPD Superintendent General Hiroshi Kojima said in the ceremony attended by Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, along with around 150 MPD officials. Emperor […]

[ad_1] One of Taiwan’s last diplomatic allies severed relations with the island and switched its alliance to China, after the global chip hub elected a new leader Beijing views as "separatist.”The government of Nauru, a tiny Pacific Island of 13,000 people, announced it will cut "diplomatic relations with Taiwan as of this day,” in a statement posted to its official Facebook page on Monday. It also vowed to stop developing […]

[ad_1] The 225-issue Nikkei average crossed the 36,000 mark for the first time in 34 years on Monday, powered by shippers and financials, with a retreat in U.S. bond yields and a stabilization in the yen exchange rate buoying sentiment.The Nikkei finished the day nearly 1% higher at 35,901.73, after touching the highest since February 1990 at 36,008.23.Value shares outperformed after lagging growth stocks last week when the Nikkei index […]

[ad_1] With national security in mind, the government on Monday added six U.S. military and other key facilities to its list of locations where the acquisition and use of land in nearby areas is subject to tighter regulations. For the first time, U.S. military bases have been added to the list of sites, which now totals 399 under the land use regulation law enacted in 2021. The six sites, including […]